Dollhouse 2x12: The Hollow Men

[quinara]

I think we might have finally fastforwarded far enough that we can go at normal pace again! 'Twas Dollhouse once more (if S5 edition and lacking on my part the gutpunch of good context). :D

Much, much stronger episode than we've been getting. The clincher for me came when Victor!Topher called Priya Sierra, she corrected him and he was like "is that what really matters right now?", because of course the answer is yes; that's the whole reason they're attempting to fight the 'apocalypse' in the first place - self-definition and maintenance of identity - and the moment they start losing sight of that they might as well not bother.

Equally stand-out for me was Mellie's horrific death, which seemed to me like the logical conclusion to the November-Paul storyline. Paul (a man, funnily enough) decides that imprints are AOK, all the feelings are the same really, so maybe it's not so bad that Mellie's been constructed as a doting flower orbiting around his every sneeze - it's love! It's wonderful! It makes her kill herself the moment she sees herself as a potential threat to him! Because, hey, her self is constructed as a non-self... Guess what, Paul, not all imprints are created equal. (And wow, the contrast between Tony just handing Priya a gun and Paul going through the 'now, little lady, this is a gun blah blah blah' expected motions was really well drawn.)

I'll also admit I got a minor thrill out of Echo's meta-comment of "whatever you call us, don't call us family", not that I thought that might be aimed a little at people who bemoaned the lack of a family unit at the start of the show (especially since there clearly was one in Dollhouse, it was just more realistic than we Whedonites have come to expect, with binding constructs of power and loyalty in place of the warm fuzzies). It's interesting that this show comes later rather than earlier in Joss's career, because I think on one level you could see it as a story about throwing off the identity your parents create for you through genes and environment, especially when it comes to Echo and Boyd.

And hee! Caroline is apparently interesting, 'on a microscopic level' - I quite liked that dig as well, sue me. And that her final, 'heroic' act is the sacrifice of others in the name/guise of terrorism (not all of those people in that office block could have been evil/cognisant of what was going on). Because, really, did Boyd deserve to die? To have his selfhood wiped and his body blown up? The Epitaph world seems at last necessary now, because it proves that was for nothing - a wasted sacrifice. Echo does not get to stand like Buffy, smiling in the sunlight looking back on the destruction. And rightly so. I can hardly believe the nerve of making Boyd a doll just before she kills him - the complete reversal of all her dictates that the dolls need saving - they're more like chess pieces to her superior self, blank and and useful strategy fodder. (She even becomes the establishment, saying the line!) Deary deary me, Echo...

Gah, though, flipping perspectives, I think part of me actually loves (that's the wrong word, but we'll go with it) that what's so special about Caroline is her wacky Holy Grail spine. It sounded so silly when they started saying it, but then as Echo was stuck in that ridiculous bandage outfit it all made sense - her personality has never been an issue; she's always just been a body to be fought over. Her womb spine, creator of life, is the battleground. Was it just me who felt like her lying there practically naked was an homage to the old marketing material? A sort of linking together of the sexual and scientific objectification? That was what I call a reveal, where as (female ie. Adelle-aligned) viewers we've always assumed Echo's specialness must be something to do with her personality and general self, but really it never was. It's horrifically cynical. (It's Dollhouse!)

Tony and Priya wandering through the smashed-up set seemed like a nice touch back to the actors/writers/studios theme of the show, which it was nice to see again. I was struck by how the show seemed to be actively destroying itself as the set got ruined - and even Enver Gjokaj's acting seemed to be breaking a little as Topher. The discussion seemed very relevant too, though I can't quite remember it - it seemed to touch on an analogy to studio rights over characters, and how they 'own' them. And indeed I wonder how that metaphor plays with sacrificing Boyd, whose devolution into the bad man seemed as OTT as strapping a load of explosives round his stomach. Tony's acceptance of the superskills (he seemed to know before he woke up, so presumably he consented to them) nicely set us once more at the top of the slippery slope, telling us why the tech might sneak out.

One thing I will lament is my dearly beloved Claire/Whiskey/whoever she was before. Considering her whole story has been the counterpoint to Echo's, the idea of a person actually happy with their imprint (and Echo's inability to get through Clyde's exterior actually made me go 'yes!' because that fits perfectly with my wank thoughts about Whiskey - she wants to stay someone else, I think, hence remaining in Epitaph One, though I would have always loved to find out why, despite my own explanation), I felt her absence strongly in this episode. It was a bit like that idea was being purposely ignored by the show/Echo as she went on her final rampage. Clyde has been a filler sub-baddy since the Attic anyway.

I loved Topher's line to Boyd about the Wizard of Oz - 'I'm the Tin Man and she's the Lion', because way to simplify their stories, dude (and a possibly unintentional reflection on the arc we've been following, which, frankly, has felt simplified). Topher isn't perfect and I love that - he cares about the name of 'his' apocalypse (which Adelle better not try and steal!) and the more he says 'you killed Bennett!' the more I think he and we become desensitised to that fact and it rings hollow. Kind of cool. And DeWitt's 'I don't end up doing anything but I'm going to damn well walk into Rossum with my head held high - don't you know who I am, little man' felt more like her than she has done in ages.

So maybe I loved this episode a little bit. Because everyone was ever-so-slightly shitty and scummy in everything laudable they did.

Is it good I can't have a moderate opinion about this show? I'm slightly worried...

Randomly ETA: Bwahahahahaa - and here was me thinking I would at last be back in agreement with Whedonesque by liking this episode, but apparently the opinion on there is that it was rubbish! Hee. /random